Thai court rules government’s $15 billion emergency loan is lawful
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Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s administration in May approved the borrowing decree to cushion a flagging economy from higher oil prices.
PHOTO: EPA
- Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled the government’s 400 billion baht emergency loan decree lawful, supporting state spending plans.
- The loan funds consumer subsidies and green energy transition, but opposition disputes the use of an emergency decree.
- The government argues the loan is vital for energy transition amid economic challenges and rising oil prices.
AI generated
BANGKOK – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on July 9 ruled that the government’s 400 billion baht (S$15.5 billion) emergency loan decree was lawful, lifting uncertainty over state spending plans.
The loan was for a consumer subsidy scheme started in June, and for financing green energy transition. But it was challenged by opposition lawmakers who argued that though they backed the clean energy policy, they disagreed with the use of an emergency decree.
“The court finds that the loan decree is constitutional,” the court said in a statement.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s administration in May approved the borrowing decree in a bid to cushion a flagging economy from higher oil prices, splitting funds equally between relief measures – including a 176 billion baht consumer subsidy scheme – and funding for a longer-term shift towards clean energy.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised,” opposition leader Natthapong Reungpanawut said about the decision. “We maintain the government does not need to issue an emergency loan decree because there is no urgency.”
He said clean energy programmes can use the fiscal budget without turning to emergency borrowing, adding that the government’s projects did not meet the criteria for such a loan.
The government has insisted the borrowing decree is essential for the energy transition, citing Thailand’s heavy reliance on imported energy – equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of gross domestic product – as a key vulnerability.
Only months into its four-year term, Anutin’s government is already facing discontent as a price shock driven by the war in Iran deepens Thailand’s farm debt crisis. Thailand’s economy, the second largest in South-east Asia, expanded 2.4 per cent in 2025, lagging behind regional peers, with its 2026 economic growth forecast raised to 2.3 per cent. REUTERS
